Chapter 30 – A Girl's Thoughts

After all, it was the nature of young girls.

Comforted by Guan Ning’s words, Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan perked up again and turned to Lin Ze with curiosity, pressing him for stories about the wilderness.

They knew Lin Ze had been hunting in the wilds all this time.

They were both amazed and admiring, and every time they met, they would pester him to tell them about it.

Even Guan Ning was quite curious.

After all, as a Beast Tamer, she would one day have to venture into the wilderness to fight Ferocious Beasts.

It was hard not to be interested in such matters.

A dozen or so minutes later.

Everyone had arrived.

They boarded the bus one after another.

Guan Ning and Lin Ze sat together, while Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan sat on the other side across the aisle.

With the roar of the engine, the vehicle slowly pulled away from the school.

After about an hour, the bus finally left Pinghai City and entered the wilderness.

The scenery outside the window gradually shifted from towering buildings and streets to desolate, bleak wildlands.

Many students grew excited, pressing against the windows, wide-eyed and curious as they gazed at the view outside.

It was no wonder they made such a fuss.

In this era, where countless Ferocious Beasts roamed the wild, leaving the city to travel outside was no easy feat.

A single misstep could spell mortal danger.

Only Beast Tamers dared to move alone in the wilderness; ordinary humans traveling usually required military or Beast Tamer escorts.

Take the bus at this moment, for instance—two school teachers of the Bronze Beast Tamer rank sat in the front seats, responsible for safely delivering the students to Ningjiang City.

Under such conditions.

Many young people never left the city of their birth until adulthood, so it was only natural they harbored a strong curiosity about the wilderness.

Guan Ning was no exception.

The girl had originally chosen a seat near the aisle to chat easily with her friends.

Now, to enjoy the view outside, she had to kneel on her seat, leaning over Lin Ze to press against the window.

Little did she realize how intimate this posture appeared to outsiders.

It looked as if Lin Ze were holding her in his arms.

Lin Ze felt a bit uneasy too.

Guan Ning’s delicate body was so close that he could even catch the faint fragrance emanating from her, giving him the sensation of holding warm, soft jade in his embrace.

After all, though his mental age was mature and he had experience with deep relationships with women in his past life, his current body was utterly inexperienced—not to mention at an age brimming with youthful vigor.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible for his heart not to stir.

Soon.

Guan Ning snapped out of her excitement.

Once she calmed down, she immediately became aware of how unseemly her posture was.

The girl’s face flushed crimson in an instant. She stole a glance at Lin Ze, then hurriedly pretended nothing was wrong, shrinking back into her own seat.

Just as she settled, the corner of her eye caught Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan covering their mouths with stifled laughter, teasing looks on their faces.

The girl’s cheeks grew even redder, and she couldn’t help but shoot a glare at her two friends.

Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan weren’t intimidated, just grinning back at her.

A moment later.

Liu Siyan suddenly tugged at Zhang Xiaoyun’s sleeve and whispered:

“Hey, Xiaoyun, you don’t think Guan Ning has… has that kind of feeling for Brother Lin, do you?”

Zhang Xiaoyun paused, immediately catching her meaning, and hesitated: “Maybe.”

Girls’ hearts were the most perceptive.

Although Guan Ning had often mentioned Lin Ze to them before, her tone and expression were more like that of a sisterly closeness to an older brother.

But recently, whenever she brought up Lin Ze, Guan Ning’s tone and expression had completely changed, as if sweetened with honey.

Perhaps she hadn’t even noticed it herself.

“But aren’t they siblings?”

“Pfft, what siblings? They just grew up together as childhood friends—there’s not a drop of blood relation between them.”

“Then… what you’re saying is… Guan Ning really has feelings for Brother Lin?”

“Do you even need to ask? It couldn’t be more obvious!”

Lin Ze had no idea about the two girls’ discussion behind his back.

After Guan Ning obediently sat down, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

To shift his attention, Lin Ze quickly opened the system panel to take a look.

After these days of hunting, he had successfully activated two new achievements, just as he’d hoped.

[Skill · Proficient]: Pet Beast has accumulated 100 skill uses. Completing this achievement grants 300 Achievement Points and Soul Crystal ×1.

[Soul Art · Proficient]: Accumulated 100 Soul Art uses. Completing this achievement grants 300 Achievement Points and Soul Replenishing Potion ×1.

Just as he had guessed before, both Pet Beast skills and Soul Arts had corresponding series achievements.

It was foreseeable that this would become one of his most important sources of Achievement Points in the future.

“It’s a pity I still haven’t achieved the Ten Thousand Beast Slash achievement.”

Lin Ze felt a slight sense of regret.

Although he had killed quite a few Ferocious Beasts these past days, the number still couldn’t break past ten thousand.

But then again, opportunities like the Insect Tide, where he could slaughter Ferocious Beasts in large numbers and farm achievements to his heart’s content, were far too rare.

Relying only on daily hunting, the efficiency was hardly impressive.

While thinking, Lin Ze casually switched to the Pet Beast panel.

After many consecutive days of battle, both Xiao Xue and Rock Ghost had seen their Growth Rates improve to varying degrees.

Xiao Xue’s Growth Rate had increased to 47%, and her Level had correspondingly broken through to Tier 4, Stage 6.

Rock Ghost’s Growth Rate had risen to 25%, and its Level had also broken through to Tier 4, Stage 6.

Both had significantly strengthened in strength, which counted as fulfilling the goals Lin Ze had set for himself earlier.

“Speaking of which, I haven’t used the Achievement Points from the rewards yet.”

A thoughtful glint flashed in Lin Ze’s eyes.

The Soul Crystal rewarded from the achievement had already been used by him, smoothly increasing his Soul Strength to 9.8.

However, he hadn’t touched the Achievement Points at all, as he had other plans for them.

Achievement Points currently had three main functions.

Enhancing Constitution and Soul Attributes.

Increasing Pet Beast Growth Rate.

Unlocking Pet Beast Skills.

Lin Ze hadn’t actually used the first function yet.

But there was no need to, since Constitution and Soul Attributes could still be enhanced using the Body-Strengthening Crystals and Soul Crystals from achievement rewards.

There was no point in wasting precious Achievement Points on that.

As for Pet Beast Growth Rate, it could be improved entirely through battle and consuming Heavenly Treasures.

Although the pace was a bit slower, compared to saving Achievement Points, this drawback was completely acceptable.

On the other hand, Pet Beast Skills could currently only be unlocked with Achievement Points.

Moreover, skills were one of the key factors affecting a Pet Beast’s combat power, so they couldn’t be taken lightly.

Therefore, after consideration, Lin Ze ultimately decided that the Achievement Points he obtained in the future would be primarily focused on unlocking Pet Beast Skills.

Unless there was a surplus, or in times of crisis, he would try to minimize using Achievement Points to increase Growth Rate.

It was foreseeable that there would be more and more places where Achievement Points would be needed in the future.

Saving wherever possible was always for the best.

Compared to short-term gains at hand, Lin Ze valued long-term development far more.

Snapping back to focus, Lin Ze continued to look at the panel.

After the Growth Rate increased, both Pet Beasts had Skills that met the Unlock conditions.

Xiao Xue’s was ‘Sigh of the Snow Maiden,’ requiring 200 Achievement Points.

Rock Ghost’s was ‘Earth Thorns,’ requiring 100 Achievement Points.

Lin Ze decisively Unlocked both Skills.

With all that done, he closed the panel, leaned back in his chair, and began to rest his eyes.

Time gradually slipped by.

By the time noon arrived.

The silhouette of a building cluster finally appeared at the edge of everyone’s sight.